Peace, Be Still and yet we cannot be still: Not a Sermon but reflection on the Gospel of Mark
Yesterday the Senior Pastor and my colleague at Augustana preached on Mark: on those who were surrounded by certain destruction and peril, as the storm loomed and threaten to submerge their lives. She asked the question about those not present publicly in the Gospel but surely in this community and context, of those on the shores watching helplessly. And yet, the text echoes what Dr. James Cone has professed all along, that God stands with the Oppressed through the presence of the Risen One-who dispersed the chaos in speaking peace.
“Peace, be still.”
And I wonder what voice shattered the empty darkness that loomed above the waters, above Creation. I wonder about how Jesus spoke against the evil that threatened to drown, as it does now, on sacred Brown and Black bodies as they search and sometimes seemingly endless wandering for that space of safety where they can fully live out their humanity and their worth.
And I wonder were the Seas too, angry; angry that these precious Bodies and the Seas are always being pummeled and abused because there is this dominant force always trying to tame it: Creation, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the so called lepers, the dejected. And I wonder would these Bodies even have perished-because Yemaja has always just hovered and surrounded us, never leaving our sides even as we were ripped from her.
If we are not wanted by this world, there are Sacred places beyond the suffering, where we are always welcomed and where the Holy Spirit and Spirits, our Ancestors are dancing and drumming and empowering.
But it is not up to those who would perpetuate evil to make that decision. The Creator is the only one, and through all of the Divine Gifts in many forms, we will prevail. And we will win.
And we ain’t going nowhere.
And I wonder is the rest of humanity who witnesses our helplessness really so weak because they cannot help or perhaps they are afraid of helping, because of the comfort along the shorelines and their status; not wanting to get dirty or drenched or bruised alongside us.
And so this is the question of the “why” when people ask “But these are not your blood relatives, so why bother? Why be concerned?”
This is why the dominant culture and Plationized Christians do not understand community or tribal bonds.
No, white people you don’t understand what it means when we see OUR PEOPLE in chains, in cages, abandoned, DEAD because of YOUR LAWS you have subjected on us; YOUR RACISM that you have stripped and immersed our skin in; YOUR GREED that causes our babies to be snatched away from their families; YOUR SICKNESS AND VILENESS that hypersexualizes our Bodies for YOUR PLEASURE.
No, those 3,000 plus children I did not birth. But my heart hurts for them. I would not be living out my call if I did not organize and mobilize.
No, Trayvon and Antwon and Tamir are not my sons. But my heart hurts, and I would be irresponsible if I did not join the fight physically and spiritually.
We will have peace.
And you, will be still.
Ache’
